Rimsky-Korsakov’s intoxicating score of a thousand and one Arabian nights tells the story of a battle of wills between the Sultana Scheherazade and her intractable husband who, convinced of the inherent infidelity of all women, vowed to slay each of his wives following their wedding night.

Scheherazade, who first enters the scene through an utterly entrancing violin solo, manages to stave off her execution night after night by keeping the bloodthirsty Sultan on tenterhooks with increasingly exciting and magical tales.

Similarly dreamlike, Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 21, with its slow movement’s gently rocking triplets and soulful, outstretched melody has become Mozart’s most popular piano concerto, in no small part thanks to its appearance on the soundtrack for the 1967 film Elivra Madigan.